TW’NSNN April 13

Item #1 Weeping Vines
We finished pruning vines on Thursday just before Noon. New cuts now get immediate seeping of the sap. No little green leaves yet.
I’ll go back in the not too distant future to help with bottling.
Meanwhile, I’ve lots to do at home, just as the weather begins to cooperate. The next couple of days look to be cool and damp – good working weather. Cheers.

Item #2: How to start a weekend
South of us 9 miles is the intersection of I-90 and I-82. Not too far south of this and to the east is a large U. S. Army area called the Yakima Training Center (327,000 acres; 511 sq. miles).
National Guard Units and other military traffic use the two interstate highways going to and coming from the YTC. We often see the convoys of soldiers and equipment.
The setting for this story is 75 miles west of us.

whitewhitewhi Pvt. Grace Hilinski

Four soldiers’ actions on April 6, 2018 saved a young girls life near North Bend, Wash. (Washington National Guard Photo)
The group was heading in convoy from Olympia to the Yakima Training Center and had stopped in North Bend to fuel up before heading eastward over Snoqualmie Pass.
They saw a lot of commotion — a young girl about 3-4 years old had stopped breathing and had no pulse.
Medic Gracie took on the staring role.Army to the rescue

We will not likely learn the specifics or the ending of this story. The privacy of the family kicks in, the press is shut out, and we are left to wonder.
Still, what we do know is good.

Item #3: Kids on tractors
Many years ago, when most family members were still in western Pennsylvania, we held family reunions, usually at the farm of my Uncle Ed. The house was on a slight rise, about 10 feet above the general level of the place, and on the occasion of one such reunion, the farm tractor was parked in front of the house.
I climbed on to the tractor and managed to put in in neutral or disengage the parking brake, or something. What did I know? Nothing!
The tractor rolled down across the lawn and stopped after descending the little hill. This excited all my relatives, likely more than me. They thought I was going to die. I thought it was a slow ride, and not much fun.
That brings us to “Drive tractors to school day” – a more recent tradition promoted by the farm kids of the Future Farmers of America (FFA).

In looking for related material – there is lots – Ifound the logo of the FFA and thought is was cool (still an in word??). Pictured is an old walk-behind moldboard plow.
I wonder if any of the FFA students have ever seen one of these?